A Little Bit About a Lot of Things

A couple of years ago I did a short post on NOLA’s salsa, and how much I really liked their product. So this time around, I wanted to do something a little different. Sure their salsa is great served with chips, but I wanted to see what else it could do. So I decided to hit the kitchen and do some cooking. I used their salsa fresca to make Mexican stuffed shells. I adapted the recipe from food.com, see the original recipe here. These were super easy to make and it was a hit with my family! Side note, I love the Taste of Mexico spice set from Penzey’s Spices, I use it all the time (it has the chili powder, chipotle and adobo seasoning I used in it) – now that it’s getting cooler, I’m looking forward to making some chili with it!

INGREDIENTS

• 1 lb ground chicken
  
• 1 tsp ancho chili powder
• 1/2 tsp red chipotle
• 1/2 tsp adobo seasoning
• 1 (4 ounce) package cream cheese
• 14 -16 large  pasta shells
• 1 cup  NOLA salsa fresca
• 1 cup taco sauce (NOT enchilada sauce)
• 1 cup  cheddar cheese, shredded
• 1 cup  monterey jack cheese, shredded
• 3 green onions, chopped

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350°.

In a frying pan cook ground chicken; add seasoning. Add cream cheese, cover and simmer until cheese is melted. Blend well. Set aside and cool completely.

While the ground chicken is cooking, cook the pasta shells according to directions; drain. Set shells out individually on baking sheet so that they don’t stick together.

Pour salsa on bottom of a 9×13 inch baking dish. Stuff each shell with the chicken mixture placing shells in dish open side up. Cover shells with taco sauce. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, add shredded cheese and crushed tortilla chips; bake for 10-15 more minutes, with the foil removed. Top with green onions and serve with more salsa.

Now meatloaf isn’t very photogenic by nature…I wish you could smell the one I made when it came out of the oven, because it was heavenly. So even though we eat with our eyes, give this one a shot, it’s delicious. I used NOLA’s fire roasted corn and black bean salsa for this easy salsa meatloaf recipe. After making it, I think I would have added some additional corn to punch this up a notch. See the original recipe here.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 lbs  lean ground beef
• 1 cup plain dry bread crumb
• 1/2 tsp ancho chili powder
• 1/2 tsp red chipotle
• 1/2 tsp adobo seasoning
• 1 1⁄2 cups  water
• 1 cup  NOLA’s fire roasted corn and black bean salsa
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 egg

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 425°.

In a small bowl, mix the bread crumbs, water and salsa and set aside for 10 minutes.

In a large bowl, add onions, garlic, beef, egg and when it’s ready, the water/breadcrumb mixture.

Using your clean hands, mix together.

Shape into a loaf shape in a large pan. (I actually used to smaller pans)

Bake for 60 minutes or until cooked through. Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly before slicing.

What is your favorite recipe you use salsa in?

Disclaimer: I was provided complimentary samples of NOLA’s salsas. All opinions are my own.

 

Tags: meatloaf, recipe, salsa, stuffed shells